


Tech Support

by CopperQuill



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Clint Barton-centric, Clueless Clint Barton, F/M, Hawkeye - Freeform, Hawkeye Comics - Freeform, Lucky the pizza dog - Freeform, Reader-Insert, clint barton - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 08:38:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2844821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CopperQuill/pseuds/CopperQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This looks unjoyous. It's the Christmas season and Clint Barton has finally decided to move into his apartment like a grown man. Unfortunately he's never really been good at the whole electronics thing, and if he doesn't watch Dog Cops soon it's going to be totally ruined for him. At least he's got friends who are technically inclined. He calls over a good friend to help him hook everything up. But what he doesn't know is this 'friend' maybe has a little bit of a thing for the infamous archer. </p><p>Based completely on Issue #6 of the Fraction, Aja, Hollingsworth Hawkeye comic.</p><p>Reader-Insert</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tech Support

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick Christmas story based off Issue #6 of Hawkeye. Let me know if you like it, and as always let me know if you have any one shot requests. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

There was only one time that people really liked snow – the holidays. Any other day of the year they would whine and complain as they shovelled out their walkways and trudged through the icy slush. But not now. At this time of year it was like the entire city was putting on it’s festive best. The snow – the snow you loved, the cold, not so much. As the apartment building came into view you tucked your hands deeper into the pockets of your jacket, thinking wistfully of a hot coffee to take the edge off. 

Just as you approached the front door to the multi-storey apartment complex you noticed a heap lightly covered by a dusting of the morning’s snow. Was that…electronics? Upon closer inspection there could be no doubt – it was an old fashioned DVD player, a DVR, and probably the most unintelligible tangle of AV cords known to mankind. Well, that explained why you were here.

The apartment building was old, and to be honest, a little rundown, but there was a certain charm to it that you loved. It felt like a family kind of atmosphere here. There was no drunk on the stoop (a rarity in this area of New York), and you couldn’t help but marvel at the clean stairwells - the corridors in your place weren’t like this.

The hallway was short – only a few apartments per floor – but you knew you had arrived at the right door. The large ‘H’ was a bit of a giveaway. ‘Real subtle Barton’ you thought as you knocked sharply on the faded wood.

Within seconds the door swung back to reveal a very battered version of Clint Barton. He sported a half healed black eye, a fading purple bruise along his jawline, and a large bandage across his nose. It seemed like he was always breaking his nose. Still, despite all the bumps and bruises he greeted you with a wide smile. “I didn’t think you’d actually come!” he exclaimed happily.

You crossed your arms over your chest, a sly smile sliding onto your face, “You know my fee Barton.”

“Hot coffee’s in the pot and there’s cold beer in the fridge,” he ushered you inside. He knew you too well – coffee and beer was all the thanks you needed, especially since it sounded like this was going to be an easy gig.

“Well in that case, IT at your service.” A quick look around the apartment revealed that Clint had finally managed to unpack. Or at least, it looked like it. On the one hand, you were almost used to the cardboard box décor he had going, but on the other it definitely felt more like someone lived here this way.

Lucky came bounding over from the kitchen to greet you, tail wagging like mad. You dropped down to one knee and threw your arms around the dog in a big hug. Lucky was the best dog you knew, though to be honest you didn’t know many. Not many of your coworkers were able to keep pets, what with having such a hectic schedule and all. Lucky planted a big, sloppy, wet kiss on your face.

“Yuck!” you laughed, wiping the dog drool off with your sleeve. “Missed you too bud.” Reluctantly you got back to your feet. Hawkeye had called you here, not the dog.

Clint handed you a mug of steaming coffee as you stood. “Oh thank god. I think your coffee maker hates me. I always spill all over.”

“Nah, you just have to be gentle with her,” he said as he poured more coffee into a chipped white mug for himself. He had been good enough to give you the best mug – the one with his own logo on it.

“Where did you even get this mug?” you laughed as you blew the steam off the top of your mug.

“Uhhh…” a bashful look crossed his face before he turned away. “So, uh, over here’s where I need your help.” Oh so smoothly dodging that question he led you over into his living room area. Surprisingly he had taken the time to decorate his place for Christmas. There was a tree set up next to his entertainment system, and it was a real, honest to goodness Christmas tree with tinsel and a star and everything. He’d even taken some of the spare garland and ornaments and hung them throughout the apartment. Sitting on an end table was even a well-worn Santa hat. Looking around at how much effort Clint went through almost made you feel bad about how little holiday cheer there was at your place.

On the floor in front of the TV was a DVR box. You looked at it sceptically, “Is this what you need help with.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong with it?” you knelt down to flip open the lid on the cardboard box and pull out the system itself. It definitely looked second hand, but still in pretty good condition. All the connections were intact and there didn’t seem to be any sign of damage. Reaching further into the box you even found all the cables needed to hook it up. Noticing Clint’s silence you looked up with a raised eyebrow. He had that embarrassed look on his face again. “What?” you asked really confused now.

He mumbled something under his breath.

“Run that passed me one more time,” you said, turning back to look at the underside of the DVR.

“I just don’t know how to hook it up, okay?” he grumbled.

There were a few beats of silence as the two of you looked at each other.

Finally, “Clint…you’re a grown man.”

“I know,” he said frustrated, throwing his hands in the air. “But I’ve never really had to do this sort of thing before.” Well, at least that made sense. He was away on S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avenger business so often you guessed he never really had much of a chance to settle in.

“You know, this isn’t really what I do…” you began sorting out the cables you’d need.

“I know, I know. But you’re trained in this sort of thing and –“

“This sort of thing?” you stopped and looked up at him incredulously. “I must have missed the S.H.I.E.L.D. sanctioned training on home entertainment systems. Skipped right passed it and went on to all that technical field support stuff.”

He shook his head and shrugged with a small smile – you two were too used to each other’s sass to take any of it personally. “Please just help me.”

“Oh well…if you’re going to say please then…” you smirked and got to work hooking up the cables and running them through the cabinet and up to his screen. “Have to say though, I’m happy you asked me first and not Stark.”

When Clint didn’t respond you turned back around to look at him, an HDMI cable held in your hand. “Don’t tell me you did,” you groaned.

“Oh come on, he’s Tony Stark!” he said apologetically. “He’s known for being good with this stuff.”

“So then why didn’t he sort you out?” you went back to your work.

“He just wanted to buy all new stuff. But I like my stuff…it’s mine.” The rest of Clint’s electronics had already been set up; the surround sound was ready to go (though that’s really not where the sub woofer went), a dusty old radio sat tucked into the bottom shelf, and he’d even managed the satellite receiver (you tried to ignore the instruction manual tucked underneath it). You had to admire a man who didn’t just throw money around to get an easy solution.

“In that case,” you started with a smile, “I’ll be done in just a minute.” You patched in the last of the cords and fired up the machine. It booted into life with a dull hum. “Voila! It’s all good to go,” you grabbed your mug and stood back up.

“Really? Just like that?” he asked, gazing at the display on the front of the receiver.

“Yep. Just like that.” You sipped at the remains of your coffee happily. “Do you want me to show you how to use it?”

“Oh yeah, that’d be great,” he sighed. “I mean, I’d probably be okay on my own, but if you don’t have anywhere to be…”

“I’m all yours Barton.” The words escaped before you were even aware you were saying them. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice. Why would he? It was a perfectly innocuous thing to say. Although coming from you it totally wasn’t.

Clearing your throat you noticed the remote laying on the ground next to the box. “Well, shall we get started then? It’s really easy once you get the hang of it.”

“Sure, sounds good,” Clint led the way over to the couch before stopping short. “Ready for a beer?”

You looked down at your mug of half drank coffee before nodding enthusiastically. “Oh yeah, definitely.”

Hawkeye moved over to the fridge and began rooting through its contents. The old worn out springs of his couch protested weakly as you sank into it. Sure it was old, and maybe a little stained in places, and it was that hideous shade of purple he was so fond of, but to be honest you kind of liked it. It just seemed to fit in so well with his personality.

“Here you go,” he handed you an unopened bottle.

“Thanks!” The top came off with a sharp hiss and you followed his lead and threw the bottle cap onto the coffee table in front of you.

“Cheers,” he clinked his bottle off yours before sitting down next to you. When the couch dipped under his weight you slid towards him a little bit. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”

Mouth full of beer, you gave a shrug and swallowed. “No worries. You know, I’m sure you could have done it yourself.”

“Probably. But you’re so much better at it.” He took a long swig from his bottle. “Alright. Show me how this works.” He threw one long arm along the top of the couch behind you so his body was facing yours.

“Oh um,” he smelled good. Damn good. Did he usually wear cologne? Or was that just the way he smelled? Whenever the two of you worked together he definitely didn’t smell like this. “It’s really easy.” The TV set blinked into life. “You see, you just turn your TV on – by the way, you could totally put all your devices on one remote if you wanted to…” He looked at you blankly. “Okay, that’s something for another day then.” You dropped the TV remote onto the coffee table. 

While you showed Clint the basics of the DVR and then the satellite receiver Lucky settled down on the ground at your feet. He grumbled appreciatively as you scratched the top of his head before flopping down for a nap.

“And there you go! Easy peesy,” you smiled. “Oh wait,” you noticed something on the DVR menu. “There’s already something on here.” You navigated through to the recordings. “Oh no way! Dog Cops! I’ve been meaning to watch that. It’s all anyone talks about.”

“Yeah no kidding! Everyone keeps spoiling it for me,” he grumbled, leaning back into the cushions.

“I hear the finale’s amazing,” you said wistfully. Unfortunately you’d been away on missions for most of the shows airings. Almost everything you knew came second hand from the guys at work. You looked up to see Clint watching you. “What?”

“Well…” he scratched at his neck distractedly. “Why don’t you stick around and get caught up with me. You said you didn’t have anything to do tonight right? We could order in a pizza, I’ve already got beer…”

You could feel the goofy smile spreading across your face. It almost sounded like he was asking you out…although this was just pizza and beer and Dog Cops. “Yeah. You know what, that sounds nice. Let’s do it.”

“Awesome,” he grinned.

The two of you spent the whole night eating pizza (and sneaking slices to Lucky) while marathoning Dog Cops. At some point you fell asleep, head in Clint’s lap. You weren’t really sure when it happened – probably around hour six – but when you woke up his hand had slipped off the back of the couch and was tangled in the ends of your hair. Clint was fast asleep, head propped up by his other hand resting on the arm of the couch. Not wanting to disturb him you smiled to yourself and snuggled back into his lap happy for small moments like this.

“Merry Christmas indeed,” you murmured sleepily, already drifting off again.


End file.
